I too would LOVE to know more about this song. The bits and bobs we have heard are ace but I am sure I read somewhere that it was something of an obsession for BW for a while and that several different versions were worked on. The backing track on the twofer version is fantastic, I would love to hear a live version. I will be gutted if the MIC vocal section is just a lazy repeat of the vocal section we already have...

After reading through a few more comments I realized I must have strayed into Bizzaro World again... in Bizarro world, Brian Wilson hasn't made a good song in 30 years, in Bizarro world, Brian's only value is if he writes a song that has 'beach boys' on it even though half of them are dead.

In the world I'm usually in, Brian Wilson is considered a genius and has been pretty consistantly writing great songs, touring the world, and enjoying critical success for the last 10 years.  

I want to come to your world! It sounds much better than the one I am in 

For what it is worth I am definitely of the "bunt instead of a slam dunk" view of this selection. I can listen to this on spotify for free then cherry pick the keepers as mp3s from Amazon/ iTunes or whatever and save myself £100. Unless they bung in another disc as a wee bonus with some of the obvious exclusions.  Why they don't offer to flog us mp3s of all the obscure tracks/ sessions I do not know, it would be money for old rope and the costs to Capitol would be so low that even a low volume of sales would be profitable.

And was I the only one hoping for a few more variations on Old Man River? Am sure I read a while back they pottered about with it for a while.

Maybe they have been persuaded that 6 discs won't cut it. I am hoping that the solution to any disagreements about track lists is to fling in more discs full of goodies.... I hope that isvwhat is going on, I am losing the will to live waiting on this...

It floats my boat- it is really just an excuse to get all the bits I like in one big long sequence.  I listen to it b4 any of the other versions for that reason. And cos I farted about making it for ages after TSS came out. I can email you it if you want a listen, worst case you waste 10mb of hard disk on it and them send it to the recycle bin.

So has anyone put together a "long" fan edit of H&V that seems to work?

I have a ten minute one i have called The Whole Shooting Match which has almost all of it in. It works for me. Am sure purists would nail me to a cross for it being so crudely done.

Anyone else thinking that there needs to be some serious goodies included with this set to justify the price tag? Compared to the SMiLE set with all its vinyl etc that price, if it proves even roughly correct would mean, a: substantially more than 6 discs b:some vinyl and a big hard back book included or c: a total rip off. Discs are cheap as chips- you can pick up a box set of Leonard Cohen's studio albums for less than 50 quid and it has 11 discs (admittedly it is hardly deluxe). An extra 60 quid for half as many discs and a wee book would not stack up. Or I may just be jibbering p!sh.

Is there a fan mix of Heroes & Villains that includes all (or most) available sections? I'd imagine it would be around 10 minutes....

I have such a big long h&v mix I have cobbled together. Tis over ten minutes, it works for me... It would probably seem rough and amatuerish compared to one done by someone who knows what they are doing. Not sure how to share such a thing though... Still, to answer your question, there is one and it is ace.

Hmmmm. I would put it on Summer in Paradise and try hard to forget it existed...

I second that emotion, Private Life has a chorus and harmonies up there with BW's best. OK the lyrics are naff and the newsreader at the end is a bit cringeworthy, but it is an ace song. Isn't It Time is also brilliant. Shelter would also be a good single. Who would have thought the BB would ever do any good songs again, after hearing the title track I feared the worst, in my view there are 4 excellent songs on the album that could have been singles  (also counting Strange World).

Holy moly,  am I am amazed by the positive views of OCA.  this album is dire (apart from Wings of a Dove! sail away and possibly my Janine which is just a bit dull).  Brian's vocals are terrible, it sounds like VDP tried to do him a favour by getting him the gig but had not realised his voice was shot. Considering how bad his vocals were, it is AMAZING what he has done since. i speak as a huge fan of the BB and esp BW, but come on, lets not switch off the critical faculties.

Apologies for the negative debut, I just find the apparently universal positive regard for this album weird.

Best regards.